


There Is No Success Without Sacrifice

by Trashcanakin



Series: Trash's 2019 Bingo fills [15]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (no one important), Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apologies, Bucky Barnes Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, Don't copy to another site, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Friday is a Good AI, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Kidnapping, Murder, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Non-Graphic Violence, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Tony Stark, Random Villain Of The Week - Freeform, Steve Rogers Is (trying his best to be) a Good Bro, Steve critical but not bashing, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wanda Maximoff is a Good Bro, author can't write action scenes, but only sort of, mentioned - Freeform, sorta...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 15:08:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20010322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashcanakin/pseuds/Trashcanakin
Summary: The rogues were back and Tony Stark was fine; he was! Avoiding or fighting with the members of Team Cap is just par for the course, right? He didn't really hate them, of course; but he tends to get wrapped up in his own head and thinks he knows what someone needs. Read: Not Him.When a group of armed men blow up a building and threaten to take one of them, Tony does what he does best, he acts on instinct.Will his self-sacrificing ways turn out for the best this time?





	There Is No Success Without Sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> "The most sublime act is to set another before you." - William Blake
> 
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> 
> Created for Winteriron Week Day 6, filling the prompt "Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart." 
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> 
> This also stands as bingo fills for: TSB2: S2 - Without Fear / BBB: K2 - [Image of Bucky covered in blood] / WIB: O3 - Suspense
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> \--- 
> 
> Title is from a quote by Adoniram Judson.
> 
> \---
> 
> EDIT: I CANNOT BELIEVE I ACCIDENTALLY POSTED THE ROUGH DRAFT OF THIS AN' NOT THE FINAL COPY! I am a trainwreck an' I apologize 🙃😭 Don't stay up an' try'n post things at 4 am y'all.

⤜⤑⤑⋆✩❂✩⋆⬸⬸⤛

Everything was a disaster. What was supposed to be a simple outing to appease the press had turned into a fucking mess. Some goons, see: villain of the week, had blown up the side of the building causing a mass panic.

It was supposed to be a good day, it was _supposed to be simple_. Smile for the cameras, answer a few questions, act pretty for the masses like Tony actually wanted to be there instead of literally _anywhere else_. Tony was used to that, it should have been a piece of cake. It didn't matter that Tony was the one forced to babysit Barnes and Wanda on this outing, even though it was _supposed_ to be Steve, it didn't matter. Tony's feelings _didn't matter._

Tony was good at it though, so he inevitably agreed. He would just have to ignore that clawing itch of panic at the back of his throat about having to stand next to Wanda and smile, about having the Winter Soldier standing at his left. The soldier's anxiety only rivalled his own; the man was practically vibrating next to him looking like he was two seconds away from another murder.

He knows, logically, that nothing bad would happen, of course; but the illogical part of his mind? The part that still had to bite down the constant feeling of dread thrusting its claws deep into his very being? The part that to remind himself that the PTSD he denies having was to blame for his unyielding mistrust of his two teammates? That part...well, you may as well shove an 'Out of Order' sign on, because even after months of working on the accords and getting the rogues pardoned, months of grieving and coping, months of trying to forgive everyone for what took place during the Civil War, and even the three months after their return; Tony still couldn't handle being around them without feeling either the urge to fight or flee; and he _hated_ himself for it.

He and Steve typically ended in a fight; he's glad his initial reaction to Barnes was to run, because Hell _no_ was he about to fight the guy. His anxiety wouldn't handle it, and he'd be damned if he was going to fall into a full on panic attack just because Barnes twitched wrong.

Barnes didn't deserve Tony's insecurities… The man had been through enough already, especially at Tony's own hand in that bunker. Tony regretted his actions that day, long ago, and he would apologize one day; _he would_ , but he's never been able to muster up the nerve.

But none of that mattered right now because some fucking assholes had to go ruin everything; planting a bomb and letting it blow.

Wanda had wandered off to use the restroom and was hit by the initial blast, throwing her back about thirty feet. The shockwave knocked both Tony and Bucky down hard, but they came out of it moderately unscathed. Tony's ears were ringing and his head was spinning, trying to focus his eyes among the dust clouding the air; he peered over to where Barnes lay beside him. The man grunted and shifted, sitting up and pressing a hand to his head where blood was trailing down in a small, yet steady flow.

"You alright there, Terminator?" he tried.

Barnes shook his head, seemingly trying to get his mind to focus. "Fine," he rasped.

That was good enough for Tony, Barnes was a super soldier, he should be alright. Stumbling to his feet, Tony yelled out for Wanda, but he got no response and couldn't hear much of anything due to the panic and people running amok.

"Shit," he hissed, hopping down from the stage and trying to force his way through the crowd. "Fri, baby girl, you still with me?" he asked.

There wasn't a reply.

He finally made his way to where Wanda lay half buried in rubble. She was unconscious, but breathing. _Thank God,_ he thought. The police and medical arrived, finally after what felt like hours, and started taking the injured away to the hospital, treating the lesser wounds on sight.

As it stood, no one was sure exactly what happened; if it was a super villain, an accident (doubtful), or some terrorist attack.

The medical unit placed Wanda on a gurney and carted her off. Tony watched them go, but knew he had to stay back and assess the situation here, he would be of more use if he stayed rather than if he followed Wanda to the hospital; there was also still Barnes to take into account. Tony was supposed to be watching them, keeping an eye on them; _making sure they were safe_. Bang up job he did of that.

Barnes made his way over to Tony who was still forlornly staring out the hole blasted through the building where Wanda was carried off.

"Stark," he rasped.

"Yeah, what is it?" Tony replied.

"What, uh, what are we supposed to d-" Bucky began, but a second explosion; one that was much closer to them this time, went off. Bucky jumped toward Tony in the last second, shielding him from the brunt of the blow; being knocked half unconscious in the process.

"Dammit," Tony groaned, brushing some fallen debris off his face and tossing a few chunks of brick off his chest. Taking a glance toward Barnes, he tried calling out to him, but he just wheezed and started coughing instead. Barnes rolled over onto his back, face rumpled with discomfort as a groan left him. Tony sighed with relief; at least he was alive.

His thought of comfort didn't last long, because at that moment a group of heavily armed men walked through the hole they'd just blown open, laying fire to the police force and civilians alike. They were speaking in a language Tony didn't recognize, talking back and forth. Tony tried pulling himself to his feet, but staggered and fell back down. He crawled the short distance over to Barnes instead, crouching over him and pressing a hand to the man's shoulder.

"Bucky, Bucky, you with me, soldier?" he hissed in a harsh whisper, shaking the man lightly.

Bucky groaned, his head lolling to the side with unfocused eyes.

"Bucky, I need you to wake up, okay? Can you do that for me?" Tony asked, tone growing more urgent. He tried to clamp down the panic threatening to overcome him; he needed to stay alert.

"Tony?" Bucky mumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me, you with me?" Tony asked fixing his gaze on the men who arrived.

"You called me Bucky," Bucky mumbled again, still out of it, but beginning to regain some of his focus.

Tony's gaze shot back to Bucky's and he stared at the man in mild surprise for a brief moment. Did he?

"Well, that is your name isn't it?" Tony teased, trying desperately to choke down the fear he was feeling.

Before Bucky had a chance to respond, one of the men caught both of their attentions. He lifted his gun and shot Tony in the arm without so much as a warning causing him to gasp out in pain. Bucky grumbled Tony's name as he was shot, panic sinking deep within' him; trying to get up he realized that his leg hurt _a lot_ more than it should and his head was still too foggy to stay focussed. He looked down to see a large piece of steel sticking out of his thigh. _Great_ , he thought. Tony nearly collapsed onto Bucky, seething out a pained hiss, but held his ground and glared at the man.

"Ah, Mr. Stark, how nice to see you," one of the men cooed, sauntering toward them.

"Yeah, can't say the same," Tony jeered through clenched teeth, trying to ignore the pain raking through his body.

The man chuckled darkly.

"Whattaya want?" Bucky grumbled out in an angered pant.

"That's simple," the man taunted, "We came to catch ourselves an Avenger."

"What?" Tony choked out.

"We're going to use you as an example, really. A way to show the world that we," he said gesturing to his lackeys, "Are better than you. We'll make a huge show of it, too; take you somewhere and film it for the world's viewing pleasure."

"Fri," Tony whispered, voice ragged. Where was she?

"Oh, she can't hear you," the man mocked. "We made sure of that. Don't want you contacting your _friends_."

"Go take a hike, pal," Bucky forced out in a wheeze.

"Don't worry, we only need one of you," the man smirked, simply assessing the two for a few moments, "I'm thinking, that one," he uttered, pointing at Bucky.

"Don't bet on it," Tony hissed, face turning dark and leveling the man with a furious gaze.

"Oh no?" the man chuckled, "Why not? I think the Winter Soldier would be a perfect candidate. Don't you? After all that sad sap shit that's been all over the news lately about how _terrible_ things have been for him? He's basically the world's poor little sweetheart. I've been on the internet, Stark, have you? People love him."

"Take me instead, you know who I am, you know how big of a shock it would be," Tony declared.

"Tony, don't-" Bucky started, but Tony cut him off.

"Besides, look at him. He's barely functioning, can't even get up. Take. Me," Tony all but basically demanded.

"You're really a hard one to crack, eh, Stark?" he cooed with a chuckle, meeting Tony's eye in a stare-down before continuing, "Alright, you it is." Turning to his men, the man called out his orders for them to take Tony.

"Tony, don't do this," Bucky plead, "We can fight them. We can-" but Tony just shook his head silencing him.

"Go back to Steve, I promised him I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and I won't," Tony said, forcing himself to his feet and taking a step toward the men.

Tony mentally berated himself for his pettiness, for his _fear_. He should have apologized instead of spending all that time running away. Bucky deserves a proper apology, and now he may never get the chance to give him one.

At least he could do this; at least Bucky would be _safe_.

"Look how well behaved you are, just can't wait to die, can you?" the man sneered looking pleased as punch. "Good thing, too, because if you would've tried anything funny, we'd have shot you both where you stood."

"Tony, wait!" Bucky shouted after him, but it was pointless.

The last thing Bucky saw before passing out from the blood loss was one of the men clubbing Tony in the back of the head, and two other men dragging him out.

Bucky lost consciousness with nothing but the feeling of pain and dread as a companion.

⤜⤑⤑⋆✩❂✩⋆⬸⬸⤛

When he awoke, he was in a hospital bed. No one but Natasha was there, and she was sitting still as a corpse staring a hole into the wall, deep in thought.

"Nat?" he croaked, tearing her back to reality.

"James?" she said calmly, though she seemed anxious in her movements, springing toward him to check his status.

"I'm fine, where's Tony?" he questioned, but feared for the answer.

A dark shroud flitted over her face, cold and eerie. "We don't know," she replied, a vicious smolder residing just under the surface.

Bucky knew how she felt, he was beyond fuming with unadulterated rage himself; he had to hand it to Natasha for keeping a clamp on her's so well. If you didn't know her well enough, she would appear aloof, slightly bitter maybe; but Bucky was good at reading people, and he could see the storm raging just under the surface.

"Where's Steve?" Bucky asked after his evaluation.

"Tony's lab," she replied. "He wants me to make sure you stay in the hospital, but I have a feeling you won't let me keep you here," she uttered though not sounding at all like she minded the idea of leaving.

"Yeah, not happening," he stated, leaving no room for debate.

Natasha quirked her brow at him, leveling him with an impassive look, "Thought so."

He pulled the IV from his arm and hopped off the bed, ignoring the minor pain that shot through his leg, and walked out of the room. He was a super soldier, he'd be fine.

Natasha followed him out, but headed toward the lab knowing Bucky would go change before joining them.

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Natasha walked into the lab and Steve shot her a questioning glance.

"He refused," was all she said before taking a seat and drilling all her focus back on the screens and scans FRIDAY had up.

Steve knew he couldn't sway her, so he resigned himself to staying silent, letting out a tired sigh.

Bucky stalked in only a minute later looking choleric and ready to cause destruction.

"Miss Friday," Bucky called out not really bothering to wait for a reply, "What do we got?"

"Nothing yet, Sergeant Barnes," she muttered distraught.

"Buck," Steve started, but was abruptly cut off.

"Don't." Bucky said in a tone so cold it nearly dropped the temperature of the room.

Steve sighed trying to ignore the headache hammering his temples. "Look, Bucky, I know you're upset, we all are, but we're doing all we can."

"We need to do better," he growled.

"I know you're upset, Bu-"

"Upset?" Bucky seethed, turning his vicious gaze toward Steve. "You have no idea what I'm feeling. How long was I out?" Bucky demanded.

"Three hours," came Steve's reply.

"That's too damn long, you should've woken me up. I can help, this is my fault, I should've been here."

"You're still injured, Buck, you should be resting. We can handle this. Don't feel like you have to be here, this isn't your fau-"

"No, Stevie!" Bucky shouted causing the captain to clamp his mouth shut in surprise. "Tony got taken because of me. He protected _me_...we have to save him," he hissed out looking frantically crushed.

"I get it, Buck, I do. We'll find hi-"

"No, you don't get it," he snapped. "He...he had no reason to protect me, to sacrifice himself for me, but he did," Bucky was sounding more and more defeated as he went on.

"We'll find him, Buck," Steve spoke in a hushed tone, trying to placate his friend. "Promise."

"You don't know that," Bucky sighed in a growl. "I've caused him so much pain already, Stevie; I can't," he voice hitched, choking out the words, "I can't be the reason that he's...that he's gone. He could be..." he trailed off. The unspoken words hanging like a heavy fog in the room.

Steve hurt for his friend, and trying to reassure him of something he didn't even know was possible himself was painful. He was worried for Tony, too. Sure, they had it out for each other when he and the others first came back to the states, sure they argued quite a bit too much about _everything_ over the past three months, especially where Bucky came in; but that doesn't mean he didn't care for Tony still, didn't mean he wasn't _afraid_.

Thinking back on everything now, Steve wished he could take it all back; wished that he wouldn't have been so stubborn to Tony and just _fixed things_ like adults. Steve just couldn't get past the fact that Tony still hated Bucky. That the genius refused to accept Bucky into their crew and stop being so moody whenever he and Bucky were in the same room together. He had hoped Tony would have forgiven his best friend, none of what happened was Bucky's _fault_ after all; but he never seemed able to, and that simple fact nearly halted all progress he and Steve could have made with their own friendship.

But now? Now that Steve was frightened for Tony and didn't even know if the man was _still alive_ ; because Tony had willingly gotten taken by the enemy just to save Bucky; well now he feels like a petulant child…

Not knowing what to say to soothe Bucky's anguish and panic, he settled on repeating his declaration with more conviction, "We'll find him."

Bucky dropped down into a chair, slumping forward and hiding his face in his hands. He was so exhausted, and the fact that they couldn't just go rescue Tony was wearing on him. They didn't even know where he was; forced to sit and wait, twiddling their thumbs while FRIDAY tried her best to locate him.

FRIDAY was doing her best, no doubt she was frantically searching the entire globe for any shred of evidence; but Bucky was getting restless. Anxiety coursed through him like termites through a log, chewing up the bits of hope and calm he tried to keep. He felt nauseous, and utterly useless.

Sitting back up and resting his arm on the table, he asked once more, "Miss Friday, anything yet?" He knew that as soon as she'd find anything she would have said so, but just sitting here in uncomfortable silence was grating on his nerves; he needed to _do_ something, and if that meant asking FRIDAY every three minutes if she'd made any progress in her search, then so be it.

"Nothing, Sergeant Barnes," she replied. Bucky could almost feel the distress in her voice and he felt for her. He couldn't even imagine how she must be feeling knowing that Tony was missing.

Steve shot a glance over to Bucky. He was tapping his metal fingers onto the tabletop and glaring intently at the screens FRIDAY had up. Steve knew Bucky had changed since being HYDRA's man-puppet, knew that he wasn't that same happy go lucky kid he remembers from the past; but this is the first time he thinks he's seen just how different he'd became. The look in the man's eye was chilling as he sat there silently staring with a purpose.

Whenever they found Tony, found who did this, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold Bucky back…

He knew Bucky liked Tony, it was one of the things he'd opened up about during one of his late night cry sessions they both agreed to never mention. Bucky had said he wished things hadn't turned out the way they did, that he regretted ever being involved with the whole Civil War fiasco, and especially over what they did in the bunker; that he wished he wouldn't have fought back.

Steve and Bucky got into an argument that night, another fight Steve regrets but can't take back. He wanted so hard for Bucky to understand and agree with him, he tried desperately to get Bucky to see that he had no fault in any of that, and that Tony _would have killed him_ ; but he never stopped to think about how Bucky felt; about the unequivocal guilt he must be trying hard to live with.

Yes, Steve and Bucky had many arguments that sprouted literally because Steve was too damn stubborn to see things from anyone else's point of view; he figured that out, though; at least with Bucky.

Now he's only left with the pitiful feeling of knowing he should have done the same for Tony.

He hopes they find him so he can get the chance.

"Captain, Sergeant," FRIDAY's voice piped up, pulling Steve out of his thoughts. Bucky's attention snapped to where FRIDAY's camera was looking alert with a steely gaze; he was definitely more Winter Soldier than Brookly Boy right now.

Noticing that their attention was on her, she continued, "I have a location," she said.

"Where?" Bucky grated out.

"They've just crossed over the border into Connecticut. My guess is they're heading for the ocean."

"On our way, okay Avengers-" Steve began, but when he looked, Bucky and Natasha; who'd been sitting in the corner of the room in bone-chilling silence the entire time, were already out of the room.

"Please hurry," came FRIDAY's worried tone.

"We'll get him back, Friday. You got the suit?"

"Already ahead of you, Captain."

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They hopped into the QuinJet and were all shocked into stillness for a quick second; Colonel Rhodes was sitting inside looking like he was ready to tear Manhattan in half.

"Colonel," Steve greeted. "I thought you couldn't make it back?"

Rhodey leveled him with a deadpan that put the Winter Soldier to shame. "I left," he grunted out. "Let's get a move on or I'll fly off without you."

They took off and made it to Tony in record time. The men were at some abandoned fishing plant along the shoreline, conveniently out of view of anything. Steve had gone over the plan of attack on the ride over, as they were unsure how many men were inside; but upon arriving Bucky wasn't willing to follow it.

He leapt out of the QuinJet before it even landed.

"Bucky, wait!" Steve shouted after him, but it was futile; the man was already barreling ahead with a vengeance.

Rhodey had the courtesy to look Steve in the eye before he clicked his faceplate down and flew off after the assassin. FRIDAY in the Iron Man suit bolting out right after.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he looked over to Natasha, who simply arched a brow at him and shrugged. In her opinion, she didn't care if Bucky and Rhodey blasted that place and everyone inside to pieces before they got there. Steve may have planned it as a search and rescue mission, hoping to capture the men instead of annihilating them, but some things just can't be stopped. _She_ definitely wasn't about to stand in the Winter Soldier's way.

Natasha landed the Jet and the remaining two Avengers headed off, too. Running as quickly as they could toward the sound of shouting and gunfire. When they finally made it inside, it was to a horror scene. Countless armed men were facedown on the ground, a few still alive, but barely.

"Bucky, Rhodes, where are you?" Steve demanded over the comms.

"Two halls down to the left, Captain," came Rhodey's voice. "We see Tony, Barnes is on a rampage. Can't stop him."

"Dammit," Steve hissed. "Come on Nat, lets go," he shot toward the Widow. She didn't need any more coaxing and took off down the hall ahead of him.

When they got there, the fight was already over. Tony was tied to a chair in the center of the room, bodies and bits of broken machinery: televisions, cameras, computers, all lay around the room in pieces. Steve shot Natasha a look, she nodded and got to work. With Tony out of commission, he was relying on her to gather all the intel she could from their computers; find out who these people were, and _why_.

Rhodey and Bucky were at Tony's side; the man was barely conscious and looked worse for wear. Using his blade, Bucky cut through the restraints that tied Tony down.

Tony's head lolled to the side and his eyes fluttered open, landing on Bucky, who looked more similar to a wild animal than a person.

"My hero," he wheezed out with a whispered chuckle.

"You're an idiot!" Bucky barked out.

"Maybe, pro'lly, so," Tony started again, words a garbled mess.

"Tones, don't talk, we gotta get you outta here," Rhodey chimed in.

"Platypus, lemme fin'sh, okay?" Tony mumbled, trying to reach his hand up to pat his friend, but ended up just letting his hand drop across the man's face with a light thwap. Dragging his attention back to Bucky, who was still holding onto him, keeping him upright.

He went to continue, but Bucky cut him off.

"It can wait, Tony. You need to see a doctor," he said. "Friday, take him to the Jet?"

"It would be my pleasure, Sergeant Barnes."

⤜⤑⤑⋆✩❂✩⋆⬸⬸⤛

Tony didn't wake up for three days; Bucky practically hovering over him the entire time. Rhodey had to go back, he wasn't even supposed to _leave_ in the first place, and all but demanded Bucky keep him updated on the Tony front. It didn't take much coaxing.

Natasha and Steve were common visitors, and everyone else who was still around came at least once; but Bucky hardly left. He wasn't even sure why, he was certain Tony and himself weren't really even friends; but he still felt so guilty over everything that had taken place, and if he used Rhodey's "threat" as an excuse to stay, well, that was neither here nor there and nobodies damn business.

"Hey, Buckaroo," Tony's voice rasped out. Bucky had been staring at the floor like it personally owed him, but snapped out of it and was brought to attention.

"Tony!" he exclaimed, a look of relief dragged out of him.

"Yeah, it's me. Fun stuff, hospitals, that is," he forced out, his throat felt like he swallowed gravel and sounded worse.

"Here," Bucky said, handing a glass of water over.

Tony hesitated for all of a moment, before the thirst got to him and he took the offered glass, downing it greedily.

A silence befell them, both unsure of what to say next.

Tony cracked first, settling to continue where he left off three days ago, "I..I wanted to say…" he trailed off, bringing Bucky's attention back to him, "I wanted to apologize, before. For what I did to you, for attacking you. I shouldn't have, I know that. And for, for practically giving you the cold shoulder since you've been back. It's really...it's not you, it's me," Tony said with a light chuckle and a head shake at the implication of those words. "You tried apologizing to me when you first came back, and I just brushed you off, walked away. I'm sorry for that, too ...I know I should have done it sooner, but…"

"There's no time like the present, right?" Bucky hitched out, the emotions he'd been stomping down threatening to escape.

Tony sighed happily, his eyes flitting closed again, "You got that right, Buckaroo."

"Thank you, Tony. For the apology, for _everything_ ," Bucky declared.

"Yeah, thank you, too," Tony replied back.

Bucky kept his gaze trained on Tony for a short pause before speaking again. "Don't ever do that again, ya hear me?" he started in a stern, but compassionate manner, "You should have let them take me, I would have been fine. Much more than you," Bucky scoffed, but the sincerity and relief in his tone wasn't missed.

"Hey now, Terminator, I think I did alright," Tony snickered, wincing in pain over the slight jolt through his arm; the bullet wound was still a little tender. Damn super soldiers and their speedy recoveries anyways.

"You were locked in the trunk of a car for four hours bleeding out," Bucky deadpanned.

"Semantics," Tony muttered with the wave of a hand and a lopsided smirk.

"Rhodes is gonna kick your ass for this," Bucky declared. "You know that right? As soon as he finds out you're awake, he's gonna fly right here and pummel you."

"Yikes," Tony quipped, "Any chance you won't tell him?"

"If I don't get to it first," he returned with a smirk of his own.

"Bigger yikes," Tony uttered.

Bucky simply huffed out a laugh.

"So ...are we ...are we good?" Tony asked hesitantly, feeling hopeful.

"God, Tony, yes. We're good. I've wanted nothin' more than to be on good terms with you since I came back, I jus- ...I kinda thought you hated me, and well, I understood that; hated myself, too, so when I tried to apologize and you looked like you wanted nothing to do with me...I stopped trying. I've caused you enough grief," Bucky answered, hiding the hurt in his voice.

"Ah, yeah, about that ...I never …I didn't _hate_ you. I just...I hated myself, I guess. I wanted to forgive you, but I...I have a lot of issues to work out, with myself; and I didn't want to put that on you. You've been through enough, you don't need the Tony Stark tragedy gift box as well," Tony murmured.

"So we both hated ourselves and used that as an excuse never to talk to each other, great," Bucky announced with a teasing scoff.

"And we're both idiots."

"Yeah, that too."

Tony snickered at that. "You should bust me out of here, I want a cheeseburger," Tony tried.

"Don't think so," Bucky responded with an unwavering smirk.

"A betrayal of the biggest proportions!" Tony shrieked in a playfully, over-dramatic manner, holding the back of his hand to his forehead and pretending to faint. "How ever will I survive?"

"I think you'll manage," Bucky quipped, rolling his eyes in fond amusement. "Now calm down before you pop a stitch."

Tony was about to respond, but the sound of the door opening claimed his attention. Wanda peeked her head in wearily and looked skittish, like she wasn't sure if she should be there or not.

⤜⤑⤑⋆✩❂✩⋆⬸⬸⤛

"Stark?" she asked coyly.

Tony simply stared at her for a moment, not hiding his surprise that she was there. They hadn't really talked much in the months since the rogues arrival, and he was pretty sure the witch still loathed him.

Not wanting to make her stand out there all day, regardless of his emotional discomfort, he replied tentatively, "Come in," giving a simple curt nod.

She slowly took a few steps into the room, stopping a small distance away from the foot of his hospital bed. She still had a slight limp and her arm was in a sling, a few minor scrapes and bruises that were already beginning to heal could be seen on her skin.

Noticing her trepidation and knowing she must be feeling similar to himself; the uncertainty not hidden from his own face, he decided to break the silence to spare her the agony of trying to talk first; spare them all the uncomfortable silence they undoubtedly would be forced to endure, "What, uhm, what can I do for you, Ms. Maximoff?," he asked.

She hesitated for a moment, a look of unsureness flitting across her face, "I just...wanted to see if you were alright," she mumbled.

"Well, as you can see, I'm alive and well," he said forcing a smirk. "Glad to see you're up and walking, too."

A small smile curved her lips, just slightly, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Bucky leaned back against the chair in silence, this was moderately awkward to watch. He knew Tony didn't hate Wanda, the way he reacted when she'd gone down in the blast proves that. He's unsure exactly what was going on between them, whatever enmity was there holding them back; but he knew they needed to get through whatever it was, so he stayed still and pretended not to listen.

"I wanted...I wanted to apologize," she said quietly, finally daring to peer up and meet Tony's eyes with her own. She looked lost, scared, ashamed maybe.

"For...for what," he asked, trying not to think about _all the reasons_ she should feel sorry for.

She huffed out in annoyance, mostly at herself, or maybe the situation in general. She began chewing her lip nervously, eyes finding the floor once again before continuing on, "For, I don't know, everything?"

Tony just continued to stare at her, unwilling to trust the words that could escape him. He knew she was trying, could assume that she came here of her own free will without anyone else goading her; so he had to at least give her that. He knew on a deeply personal level how nerve wracking and difficult sincere apologies were; apparently they had that in common.

"I know…" she started again, "I know I've hurt you, before; and I...I know I haven't even _tried_ making up for everything, especially since we got to come home, I just," she trailed off looking like she was heading into a mental crisis.

Tony knew how that felt, too.

"Hey, Little Red," Tony chimed in, forcing himself to swallow his own anxiety that was threatening to boil over. She needed this, he thinks they _both_ do, so he would try his damndest not to ruin it by having an anxiety attack in front of her; or Bucky. "Why don't...why don't you come sit down, yeah?"

A look of surprise darted across her face.

"You're alright," he said in as soothing a tone he could muster. He pointed to the chair sitting near the left side of his bed, across the way from where Bucky sat on his right.

She slowly inched over and claimed the chair, sitting down cautiously.

Where they sat now, her on his left, Bucky on his right; it was an exact contrast to where they stood just three days prior. Tony knows he still has a lot of personal issues to work through, but he can also feel that the tides were changing; and he's fine with that; more than fine.

Three days ago he was vibrating out of his skin being surrounded by the two of them; but now it was more a dull shiver.

Laying her hands across her lap and rubbing them together self consciously, she spoke again, "I want to."

Tony quirked an eyebrow at her in question, "Want to what?"

"To try," she said, "To try and make up for the pain I've caused you." Pausing briefly to take a shaky breath, she carried on, "I know there's a lot to make up for, and I know now that you locked me at the compound to help me; I think I always did, I just...I don't know. How… How do I try to make up for all that?"

"Look at me, Wanda," Tony said calmly, waiting for her to meet his eye, "You _are_ trying, this is you trying; and I appreciate the apology, I do. So, uh, thank you."

She remained silent, shamefaced but the thinnest sliver of hope was making its way in.

"I know things won't simply click into sunshine and rainbows overnight, I know this because _I_ still have a lot to...to work through, but I'm happy to try, too." he'd told her with sincerity.

"I would like that," she said, barely louder than a whisper. A warm, hopeful smile transformed her; it was a small, a barely there thing; but the relief she felt was evident.

"If you want to be a real peach, there _is_ something you can do for me," he quipped, causing her head to cock to the side. "I want a cheeseburger, and _someone_ ," he said shooting a gaze toward the soldier, "Says I'm not allowed to leave."

A tiny scoff escaped her, peering from Tony to Bucky with a slight quirk of the lips. "Cheeseburgers, I can...I can do that," she quipped.

"Yay!" Tony chimed.

Bucky just scowled at both of them, but there was no real heat to it.

Wanda left and returned shortly after with cheeseburgers for all of them; what the doctors didn't know wouldn't hurt, right? The three of them just sat and talked for a while about any and everything, letting the past grudges and hurt slowly fade. Things were still fragile between them, but it would get better.

Tony believed it would.

When Natasha came to visit again, she stopped outside the door looking in, her hand hovering on the door handle. The scene she saw inside filled her with warmth, though she would never admit to that. Wanda was sitting cross legged on Tony's hospital bed, Bucky was on the other side in a chair, elbows propped up on the bed as well. The three of them were laughing about something and shoveling cheeseburgers away like it was their last meal.

Natasha knew how to read a room. She knew that things between them weren't wholly resolved, that there was still past hurts and hang ups they undoubtedly still had to work through; but they were trying.

She smiled and walked away. She'd let them have this moment.


End file.
